Retribution Comes In Many Forms
Disclaimer – I do not owner anything remotely Hornblower, that (unfortunately) belongs to the Forester Estate.
AN – This fiction is set during Retribution (film) however moves into AU as I have changed some of the events. I realise that this story may take great liberties with the established plot etc, but frankly my dears, I don't give a…
Retribution Comes In Many Forms
The roar of battle reached the ears of the two occupants of Dr. Clive's rest room. The old man, his hair unkempt and his eyes wild and rolling, fixed his gaze upon the young man who stood before him. Midshipman Wellard was, he concluded, a force to be reckoned with, and one that he had rather underestimated.
Yet the man's hand shook as he tried to steady the gun in his hands, intent upon killing the man who had tormented and belittled him in two separate beatings and weeks of bullying.
Outside the spine chilling crack of another gun announced the imminent death of yet another innocent sailor. The Captain and the Midshipman were not to know that already Horatio Hornblower had boarded the Renown and that fortune was, so once, smiling on them.
"I am no boy!" Wellard retaliated against the tyrannical Captain.
Spurned by the boy's impudent attitude, Captain Sawyer could barely prevent himself from raising his hand, almost involuntarily. His fist flew through the air, the target being Wellard's face.
Suddenly he knew. In that instant, fleeting and swift, Captain Sawyer knew the truth. At the moment that his hand struck skin and he felt, not the rough and hispid jaw of a man, but the soft and fragile cheek of a woman.
"I am no boy." Wellard repeated, raising one hand to touch the tender spot on her cheek where his hand had left a red mark. "And you are no man to strike me."
Realisation dawned upon the old Captain's face. His eyes shone bright with some unseen and unrecognisable emotion. "I know." He whispered.
Together they stood, side by side in their final hour.
"I thank you for your company in this, Mr. Wellard." The elderly man said, the latter part of his final words laden with sarcasm. 'And I hope to God that I shall die alone here today.' He thought, as the doors burst open.
Three gunshots rang out in quick succession. The first from Wellard's gun, hitting the target in the chest. Two more shots followed. Sawyer staggered and fell, dead the moment that the bullet pierced his heart.
Wellard also lurched as a bullet drew blood. As the wood-planked floor rose to meet her, she was conscious of a mumble of voices before darkness engulfed her senses. The last face she saw was that of Hobbs, leaning over her.
Who did it Mr Wellard?" He pleaded. "You can tell me."
She was unaware of the moment when the guns ceased to fire and the crew of the Renown cheered as their hero accepted the surrender of the Spanish. Fortunate enough not to hear the cries of dying men or see the injured waiting for the attentions of one doctor…
AN – OK, I know that that was a short chapter, but there is more to come. I just saw Retribution last night and I realised all the subtext that could be gained from Wellard saying, "I am no boy". I've always thought him to be rather effeminate looking so why not, rather than the cliché of 'OC female disguises self as male and boards the ship'. Read and review please.